Chapter 4

"Kate! What are you daydreaming for? Answer the door!"

A loud, aggressive banging interrupted my thoughts. I opened the door to find Mark standing there, scowling.

Sebastian rushed over with a huge grin. "Mark! Come on in. Have you eaten?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "Sebastian, my mom told me to come to you if I needed anything."

Sebastian’s face lit up with absolute devotion. "Of course! Whatever you need, I will—"

"Give me a thousand bucks. I need it," Mark interrupted rudely.

Sebastian froze. After a brief pause, he turned to me.

"Kate, go get that thousand dollars you saved up and give it to Mark."

I scoffed internally. I had been working non-stop, and only managed to clear the last of Sebastian’s debts last year.

This year, I had finally saved up a thousand dollars. I was planning to use it for SAT prep classes.

And my dad couldn't wait to hand it over to his lover's son.

I gasped, putting on a shocked expression.

"Oh my god, Dad! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I just lent all that money to a friend."

Sebastian pointed a finger at me, screaming, "Kate! What is wrong with you?! How could you lend that much money without asking me first?!"

"But Dad, didn't you always say that people only borrow money when they're in an emergency? There was no time to ask!"

Sebastian choked on his words, his face turning red.

I quickly added, "And Dad, my friends were so grateful. They said only a parent as generous as you could raise a daughter so kind-hearted."

"They said you're a true saint. If I had said no, wouldn't that make you look bad?"

Sebastian’s mouth hung open, his face flushing crimson.

Mark snapped impatiently, "Do you have the cash or not? If not, I’m calling my mom."

"Yes, yes, we do!" Sebastian stammered. He reluctantly pulled out his own wallet and started counting bills. Mark snatched the cash right out of his hand.

Without a word of thanks, Mark turned to leave. Sebastian yelled after him, "Mark! At least take some sandwiches! You can't skip meals!"

He grabbed two sandwiches and ran after him, glaring back at me like I was a criminal.

Just like in my past life, Sebastian started demanding that I cater to Mark's every whim.

His excuses were always the same: "We're neighbors. You help him now, and he'll help you in the future."

He knew I used to be soft-hearted, so he constantly tried to make me feel pity for Mark.

"Poor Mark, he dropped out of school so young. What kind of future does he have?"

"He and I are just men. We don't have a woman's touch. Just think of it as helping me out with some chores..."

I smiled and nodded.

"Sure, Dad."

Then, I took the food Sebastian made for Mark, picked out every single piece of meat, ate it, and left Mark with nothing but cold, plain vegetables.

When Sebastian ordered me to clean Mark's bathroom, I poured half a bottle of body wash all over the tile floor.

Every other day, I would hear Mark screaming and cursing from next door after slipping and falling.

I even caught some frogs and mice and slid them under his bedsheets.

In my past life, I would have been terrified of those creatures.

But now, I knew that human hearts were infinitely filthier than any pest.

Three days later, Mark came over and kicked our door open.

His face was contorted with rage. "Sebastian! If you can't take care of me, don't make promises to my mom!"

"Is Kate trying to humiliate me on purpose?!"

He got more and more worked up, spitting insults. "You useless, pathetic old simp!"

That struck a nerve. Sebastian, losing his temper, gave Mark a light shove.